


War

by PsychoCircus774



Series: War [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-25 07:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4951150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoCircus774/pseuds/PsychoCircus774
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the first fan fiction series I ever wrote that I started in November of last year and finished early this year. It may not be the best series out there but I am more than proud of how it turned out. Plus Bandura is just an awesome character and I love her so much. Hope all you lovelies enjoy it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

War| Part 1

 

              Bandura had been docked in the small fishing village for a few days now and she had to admit she was thoroughly enjoying it. It was a nice change of pace for the swordswoman. No one in the village knew her as, as the marines had so kindly put it, the demonic swordswoman that could cut any naval vessel in half. They only knew her as Janet, the young woman who was sailing the seas trying to find herself. And, technically speaking, Bandura wasn’t lying to these people. She was a young woman (on the outside anyway) and she was sailing the seas searching for something, although she forgot what that was a long time ago.

              She was wandering around the local open-air market, a place brimming with life at the height of the afternoon. She munched on an apple from the bushel she had purchased earlier. Walking through the merchants stalls Bandura listened to the snippets of conversation that invaded her ears. For the most part she ignored the normal chatter and focused on the conversations spoken in whisper.

              As she neared the village’s most popular tavern Bandura noticed a few specific names kept cropping up.

              “… Monkey D. Luffy…”

              “… the Straw Hats…”

              “…Roronoa Zoro…”

              “… Black Leg Sanji…”

              Taking interest in the soon-to-be King of Pirates and World’s Greatest swordsman, Bandura snaked her way into the tavern and up to the bar. The barkeep immediately saw her and made his way over to her.

              “Afternoon miss.”

              “Afternoon.”

              “Hey your Janet, been here for a few days right?”

              “That is correct.”

              “Well, may I say, you have brought a bit more beauty to this tired old village.”

              Bandura faked a blush,

              “You are far too kind Mr…”

              “Call me Sirus.”

              “Thank you very much Sirus.”

              “So what can I get for you Janet?”

              “How about four bottles of your best sake and some information?”

              Bandura held up a small pouch and shook it, making the berries inside jingle against each other. Sirus reached for the pouch but Bandura enveloped in back into her palm.

              “I would like to see my sake first if you don’t mind Sirus.”

              “Are you a woman of your word?”

              “Yes.”

              Bandura stuck out her other hand and Sirus took it. The two shook hands then Sirus disappeared into the tavern’s back room.

              A few moments later Sirus reappeared with a small woven bag with four bottle tops poking out. Bandura took the bag, opened the top, counted the bottles and placed the remainder of her bushel in before pulling it shut and slinging it over her shoulder.

              “Now what information are you looking for Janet?”

              Since Sirus had been talking to Bandura, another one of the barkeeps came from the back to take over.

              “I’m looking for anything you’ve heard recently about Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro.”

              Sirus was taken aback by Bandura’s request,

              “Why would a girl like you be interested in pirates like them?”

              “I’ve heard a lot of hushed chatter about the Straw Hats recently and I’m curious.”

              “I would watch that curiosity Janet, pirates are dangerous.”

              “I am aware,” Bandura laughing inwardly because Sirus had no clue how dangerous she knew pirates could be, “I also know for certain that Luffy and his crew are not your ordinary pirates.”

              “Fine. I haven’t heard much… however I’ve heard rumors they may be docked in one of the hidden coves along the shoreline.”

              Bandura brought the pouch of berries back out and held it out. Sirus grabbed it, looking at his warily.

              “You have nothing to worry about Sirus, I am simply going to make the Straw Hats a nice peace offering.”

              Bandura shifted the bag on her shoulder causing the bottles of sake to knock against each other. She gave Sirus a generous smile, winked and disappeared out of the tavern.

 

Ω

 

              On her way out of the market Bandura stopped by a meat vender that came highly recommended and purchased twenty pounds of his best meat. The man kindly offered to help Bandura carry her heavy load but she politely declined, she did not want anyone following her to the coves. The vender watched as the woman who called herself Janet snake her way effortlessly through the market. Anyone who came in contact with the young woman was left dumbfounded. Without even trying Bandura was shattering the stereotypes women in every town she docked in.

              Bandura found her way out of the market and made her way up the coastline. She was just about to clear the docks when three men stepped out from behind some crates.

              “Where you headed girly?”

              Two of the three were normal size. The third was a muscle bound man who looked to lack any intelligence.

              “None of your business,” Bandura growled.

              The three men smirked, thinking they had an advantage over the woman in front of them. One, being obvious, was because she was a woman; two because she had her arms filled with meat, fruit and liquor.

              “That wasn’t very nice.”

              One of the normal sized men stepped forward. Bandura’s eyes hardened, she knew this was not going to end without conflict.

              “I will give you boys one chance to leave now before you get your asses handed to you.”

              Bandura was barely able to keep the growling out of her voice. She did not know how long the Straw Hats would stay in the coves and had no interest in tracking them across the ocean.

              The men said nothing, only smirked. Bandura sighed,

              “I tried to be civil.”

              With on warning all three men were thrown from the docks, landing a few meters away. The men had looks of complete shock.

              “It was nice meeting you boys!”

              Bandura called before continuing on her way.

 

Ω

 

Now deep within the forest farther up the coast Bandura stopped at the base of an elderly tree that looked to have been nearly torn to shreds by a storm or something. Carefully setting her load down on a flat rock near the base, Bandura stuck an arm down a hole underneath the tree.

              Careful not to cut herself on the contents Bandura carefully lifted a long, narrow bag. The bag contained several weapons that included: swords, throwing knives and daggers. She always kept a separate stash where ever she docked, because she usually docked for more than a day, in case she was found and could not get to her ship.

              Bandura looked off in the direction of the coves. In truth she had no idea what her plan of action was with the Straw Hats. If for some reason she was asked to join the crew she would, although she thought that was extremely unlikely. Bandura also thought of offering an alliance with the pirates. She had yet to come up against an enemy she could not defeat, a promising offer to the captain who desired to become the King of Pirates. Bandura also had a burning desire to cross swords with Zoro. Even though the green-haired swordsman had lost to her brother, she wanted to test the man with her own swords.

 

              Bandura carefully crossed the bag of weapons over her chest, replaced the bag of liquor and fruit on her shoulder and tucked the package of meat under her arm. She heaved herself up and continued on her way to the secret coves and the Straw Hat pirates.


	2. Part 2

War| Part 2

 

              Luffy and his crew were enjoying some relaxation time in the nice, cool weather of the coastline’s hidden coves. The pirates were docked in one of a couple coves concealed by cliffs.

              Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were messing around below deck; Nami and Robin were sunbathing; Sanji was busy in the kitchen preparing drinks and snacks; and Zoro was in his usually spot on deck taking a nap.

              As Bandura approached the Thousand Sunny she was a little disappointed. You’d think pirates with bounties as high as theirs would be more careful. Walking up the docks towards the ship Bandura allowed herself a moment of pause. It was possible the Straw Hats would want nothing to do with her. She hadn’t given that possibility much thought and now wasn’t sure what she’d do if it happened. The Straw Hats couldn’t kill her, but she would still have to be cautious.

              Bandura was standing on the ship’s railing by time Nami opened her eyes to see a stranger on the ship.

              “Who are you?”

              Robin opened her eyes as well,

              “What do you want?”

              “My name is unimportant and I wish to speak to your captain, his name is Luffy correct?”

              Bandura spoke calmly, not showing any concern over the two women.

              Nami was about to say something when Sanji came bursting onto the deck with a tray of snacks and drinks.

              “Nami-swan, Robi…”

              The blonde cook stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Bandura.

              “Oh fair maiden, I have waited for so long to see your beauty! Now we can be together forever!”

              Sanji tornadoed over to Bandura only to be stopped by her boot on his chest.

              “You must be Sanji.”

              “She knows my name!” Sanji shouts before fainting.

              “Is he always like this?”

              Bandura looked from the passed out cook with hearts as eyes back to Nami and Robin.

              “Pretty much,” Nami replied.

              “May I speak to Luffy now?”

              “Depends, what’s in the bags?” Nami pointed to Bandura’s load.

              “I have sake, meat and fruit.”

              At the word meat a commotion was heard below deck, followed by several footsteps.

              Luffy rushed on the deck, followed by Chopper and Usopp.

              “Did someone say meat?!”

              Luffy looked around until he saw Bandura.

              “Who are you? Do you have meat?”

              Bandura shifted the weight of the meat under her arm before addressing the captain of the Straw Hats.

              “My name is Janet and, yes, I do have meat.”

              “Why did you tell him your name and not me?!”

              Bandura turned towards Nami, who was fuming.

              “You aren’t the captain,” Bandura said calmly.

              Nami was interrupted before exploding on Bandura by Luffy,

              “How much meat did you bring?”

              “Twenty pounds.”

              “Awesome!”

              “Have your cook get up and I’ll give it to him.”

              Luffy knelt down my Sanji and began poking his face,

              “Hey Sanji wake up, you have meat to cook!”

              The blonde cook finally lifted his head,

              “My sweet lady…”

              “Shut it cook,” Bandura tossed the bundle of meat onto Sanji’s chest.

              “Shit this is a lot of meat,” he said.

              “I said it was twenty pounds.”

              Bandura looked down at the cook, not very impressed. She looked at the crew then at Zoro, who was still asleep.

              “Is there anything that can wake him up?”

              All the Straw Hats chuckled and Luffy spoke,

              “Sometimes it’s impossible to wake him up!”

              Bandura was finding it hard to believe that the man asleep when there was an enemy on the ship was the man who wanted to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman. Nami and Robin had left their sunbathing spot to stand by Luffy, Usopp, Sanji and Chopper.

              “What else did you say you had?” Robin asked.

              “I also have apples and four bottles of the best sake from the village’s most popular tavern.”

              Nami stepped forward, Bandura eyed her warily.

              “May I see it?”

              Bandura eased the bag off her shoulder and took out an apple before handing it to Nami. Nami knelt down with the bag, pulled it open and inspected the contents. Bandura was right, the four bottles of sake were a secret brand not widely known. However Nami was no fool, it was extremely easy for someone with talent to fake expensive bottle labels and stick them on cheap ones.

              “How do we know this stuff is real?”

              Bandura smirked, _at least they’re not_ that _stupid,_ she thought finishing her apple.

              “How about opening a bottle and trying it?”

              Nami glared at Bandura, then got up and stomped over to Zoro. With his love of liquor it would be easy for him to tell whether or not the sake was good or not.

              “Zoro wake up!”               The swordsman did not stir.

              “Zoro! WAKE UP!”

              Still nothing.

              “WAKE UP YOU ASSHOLE!” Nami buried her foot in Zoro’s side and then the green-haired swordsman’s eyes fluttered open.

              “What the hell do you want Nami?”

              “Watch how you talk to Nami moss head or I’ll kick your ass!”

              Sanji appeared next to Nami and tried to put a protective hand on her shoulder. She brushed it off and shoved the bottle of sake in Zoro’s face.

              “Drink this and tell us if it is what the label says it is.”

              Zoro took the bottle, popped out the cork and took a big swig. He stood up and wiped his mouth,

              “Tastes like the sake that barkeep gave us back at that tavern.”

              “I figured you guys would like it.”

              Zoro looked up and finally saw Bandura standing on the deck with the others.

              “Who the hell is she?”

              “Her name is Janet, she brought us meat!” Luffy said with the stupidest grin on his face, “Now get cooking Sanji I’m starving!”

              Sanji went back to the kitchen and Nami and Robin went back to sunbathing. Leaving Bandura, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Zoro standing on the deck.

              “So who are you exactly?”

              Zoro walked closer to Bandura and the others, allowing her to assess at the swordsman without trying too hard.

              “Names Janet, I’ve heard a lot about you Roronoa Zoro.”

              “What are you doing on our ship?”

              “Simply showing some hospitality to my fellow seafaring folk.”

              “You’re a pirate?”

              “Nope.”

              “Do you have a boat?”

              “Yup, I’m docked in the village.”

              Zoro looked at Bandura very confused. Chopper stepped forward,

              “What happened to your face?”

              Bandura knelt in front of the little reindeer and pointed to the scar that went from her left eye to the corner of her jaw,

              “You mean this?”

              “Yeah, it doesn’t look like it was cleaned and stitched up well.”

              “I got a bottle of sake smashed against my head in the last village I was in, kind of had to do a rush job to get it cleaned up.”

              “You stitched up your own head wound?”

              “It’s not like I had much of a choice. I had to leave the village after that fight, I barely had time to gather all my supplies before they ran me out. Plus I sail alone so I didn’t have anyone to stitch this thing up for me.”

              Chopper and the others just stared at Bandura, they didn’t know what to think of the woman kneeling before them. However Chopper, being the doctor of the ship, snapped out of his daze,

              “Would you mind if I tend to your wound properly?”

              “Not at all, what’s your name?”

              “I’m Chopper, I’m the ship’s doctor.”

              “If I may say Chopper, you are adorable!”

              Chopper blushed and began doing his happy dance in circles around Bandura. She couldn’t help but giggle at the adorableness of Luffy’s doctor. When Chopper finished he took Bandura’s hand in his hoof and began to lead her to the infirmary. But as soon as Bandura realized where she was going she pulled her hand violently away and fell back on her rear.

              “What’s wrong Jan…?”

              Chopper turned to see Bandura clutching her hand, pale and wild-eyed.

              “Are you alright Janet?”

              Bandura was taking deep breaths, _calm down you little bitch! You want to join their crew not have them think you’re crazy!_ She screamed in her head.

              “Sorry Chopper, could you tend my wound out here? I have issued with confined spaces.”

              Since everything was pretty quiet everyone on deck heard Bandura when she fell back. Nami and Robin had no interest so didn’t move from their chairs. Luffy, Usopp and Zoro gave Bandura the same look Chopper did, confusion and concern. Chopper turned back and went to get his medical bag. Zoro took a step closer and looked down at Bandura,

              “What the hell was that?”

              “I already said, I don’t do confined spaces!”

              “Why?”

              “You wouldn’t get it.”

              Bandura had started trembling, the pain and memories of her time in hell fighting to break free. _NO! I am not going to screw this up!_ She tightened her grip on her hand until her nails punctured her palm. Zoro, Luffy and Usopp just watched as Bandura fought for control over her mind.

              Chopper reappeared with his medical bag and began tending to Bandura’s wound.

              “This may hurt a little.”

              Bandura offered the little reindeer a smile, seeing as she couldn’t move her head. Chopper gently removed the stitches and began cleaning the wound. Bandura flinched slightly when Chopper first touched the open wound.

              “With a cut like this you should have been knocked unconscious, or even killed.”

              “I have quite the hard head doc,” Bandura said with a smile.

              In truth the cut was healing a lot slower than the last couple of injures Bandura had sustained. Then again, wounds that were fatal to others generally took longer heal. Chopper finished cleaning the cut and stitched it back together. While sewing her wound Chopper noticed the gauze peeking out from underneath Bandura’s collar. The reindeer man looked in the eyes of his patient but her amber eyes revealed nothing.

              “All finished, should be able to take the stitches out in a few days.”

              “Thank you Chopper! You’re the best doctor I’ve come across in a long time.”

              Bandura pulled Chopper into a brief hug, causing the reindeer to blush. When Chopper was released he let his eyes to the long, narrow black bag still crossed over Bandura’s chest. He could see a few sword hilts poking out but was still curious to see what else was in it.

              “What’s in the bag?”

              Bandura briefly touched the strap before answering,

              “These are some of my weapons.”

              “Some?” Zoro’s eyes looked at the bag, taking in the general size, “that looks like a lot of weapons.”

              “A girl can never be too careful when she’s sailing on her own,” Bandura answered with a smirk.

              “You’ve been traveling by yourself? How long?”

              What had Bandura just told them had peeked Luffy’s interest. The captain sat cross-legged in front of her, rocking back and forth awaiting her answer.

              “I’ve been on my own since I was nine years old. Although I’ve only returned to the seas a few years ago.”

              Luffy’s mouth formed and “O” and he uncrossed his legs and began clapping his feet together,

              “That is so cool!”

              Sanji poked his head out on deck,

              “Foods ready.”

              Luffy jumped up and charged towards the kitchen,

              “MEAT!”

              Sanji stepped out and stopped Luffy with his foot,

              “LADIES FIRST YOU IDIOT!”

              “Hey Janet, have dinner with us! You did provide the meat and all!”

              Luffy turned towards Bandura with a goofy grin and Sanji’s shoe print on his face. She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped as she stood up and fell in behind Nami and Robin into the kitchen.

              “It would be my pleasure captain.”

             

~~~~~

 

              Sharing a meal with the Straw Hats felt like eating in a crowded bar. Chatter and arguments filled the air, sake and other drinks flowed freely, and the occasional rubber hand could be seen trying to steal food only to be stabbed with a fork or knife. Bandura laughed right along with the Straw Hats, finding herself actually feeling happy.

              The only thing that would have made the meal better was if Zoro would stop glaring at Bandura. The swordsman’s gaze hardly left the stranger at the table. While she was use to the glares she was getting, this time it was rather annoying. She completely understood Zoro’s actions, he did not know her plans with the crew. But honestly neither did she. Bandura finally met Zoro’s gaze, hardening her own without allowing the moss head to see what hid behind her eyes. The table grew silent, everyone noticing the staring contest between Bandura and Zoro. Thinking he saw a chance, Luffy slithered a hand up to Bandura’s plate. She knew what the rubber man was going to do. With an animal growl rumbling through her chest Bandura brought her fist down hard on the rubber band of the captain.

              Luffy yelped in shock at the force and quickly withdrew his hand. The looks everyone now gave Bandura had changed. The growl she had just produced did not sound like something that should have come from her body.

              “What was that?” asked Chopper.

              Bandura kept her eyes on Zoro, “a warning,” she said calmly.

              The meal slowly came to an end, everyone except for Bandura and Sanji filed out of the kitchen and returned to their personal activities. Bandura stayed behind and insisted on helping Sanji clean up. The blonde cook watched her curiously as she moved around the kitchen she never once bumped into his, even though he tried several times to “accidentally” bump into her. Shortly after everything was done Sanji leaned against the counter wiping his hands,

              “I haven’t seen many woman like you before.”

              “What do you mean by that?”

              Bandura sat herself on the counter next to Sanji.

              “Nothing bad you just seem different.”

              “How exactly?”

              “I can’t think of the right words by you seem to… move differently.”

              “Is that bad?

              “No, absolutely not! You just move like a…”

              “…an assassin…a hunter?”

              “Sort of,” Sanji turned his face to meet her’s, “why use ‘assassin’ and ‘hunter’ to describe your movement?”

              “That’s what is has been described as before.”

              “Interesting words. You are a fascinating woman Janet.”

              Bandura smiled and gave Sanji a peck on the cheek before hopping off the counter and leaving the kitchen.

              “Thank you Sanji.”

              The blonde cook was left on the kitchen floor. Squiggly circles as eyes and heart shaped smoke puffing out of his cigarette.

 

~~~~~

 

              Back on the deck of the Thousand Sunny the rest of the crew waited. Bandura reappeared, her bag of weapons still across her chest. Luffy stood in front of everyone with his arms crossed. However it was Zoro who spoke first,

              “We have some questions to we’d like you to answer.”

              Bandura nodded silently. Now Luffy spoke,

              “Why apples?”

              Nami stepped forward, smacking Luffy on the back of the head,

              “That’s not what we wanted to ask her you idiot!”

              Luffy looked back at Nami,

              “But that’s what I wanted to ask her.”

              “I like apples,” Bandura said to Luffy.

              The Straw Hat captain stuck is tongue out at Nami and turned to Bandura,

              “One more question, will you join our crew?”


	3. Part 3

War| Part Three

 

              “I’m sorry what?” Bandura asked.

              “Will you join our crew Janet?” Luffy repeated.

              The deck of the Thousand Sunny fell silent. Bandura had not seen this coming. Why would Luffy ask her to join the crew when they’d only met a few hours ago? It didn’t make any sense, and it was making Bandura feel uncomfortable. After a few minutes of silence Sanji came on deck. He saw Bandura, then saw the others standing in front of her,

              “What’s going on?”

              “I asked Janet to join our crew but she hasn’t answered yet,” Luffy replied.

              “Well Janet, are you joining?” Sanji moved his gaze back to Bandura.

              “Why do you need me on your crew? I doubt I can offer you much,” she said hesitantly.

              “Do be stupid you have all those weapons, I doubt they’re all for show,” Luffy said with a grin.

              Bandura looked at the pirates in front of her, _there is no way it is this easy, no way!_ But it was, Luffy had just asked her to join his crew. That’s what she wanted right? Why was she hesitating?       

              “Are you trying to trick me?” she asked.

              Luffy tilted his head to the side, “what?”

              Nami stepped next to Luffy,

              “Listen Janet there is no way Luffy is that smart, he really does want you on the crew. The rest of us didn’t know he was going to ask you until now,” she said.

              There was no real reason for Bandura to be concerned. No one on this could hurt her and no one knew who she really was. The only crew member she would really have to worry about was Zoro. The green-haired swordsman’s gaze had never left her since the moment she stepped on deck. She would have to keep a wary eye on the swordsman, but that wasn’t going to stop her. Letting out a breath Bandura finally spoke,

              “I’m in.”

              “YEAH!” Luffy shouted, “Sanji it’s time to celebrate our newest crew member, let’s eat!”

              “We just had dinner!” Sanji said.

              “I don’t care we need to celebrate, get cookin’!”

              Sanji shook his head and went back to the kitchen. Luffy ran around the deck shouting and cheering about his new crew member. While he was doing that the rest of the crew formally introduced themselves to Bandura. Everyone except Zoro that is. The swordsman just stood on the deck watching her. Bandura knew right away she had good friends in Nami, Robin and Chopper.

              “I’m calling your Janey!” Chopper said.

              “You can call me anything you want Chopper,” Bandura replied with a smile.

              “Hey can we see your weapons?” Usopp asked.

              Bandura nodded and with a grin sat down and carefully removed her weapons bag. She unrolled the bag to its full length of five and a half feet long. It seemed every inch of fabric was occupied by some sort of weapon. She had several swords, daggers, pistols, shot guns, a few sling shots and an arsenal of throwing knives. Usopp’s eyes bulged and his jaw dropped to the deck.

              “How do you carry all that? It has to weigh at least a hundred pounds!”

              “I’ve been carrying this bag with me for so long it feels light as a feather,” Bandura replied.

              “But you have so many weapons yet it looks so small when you had it on your back!”

              “That, I’m afraid, is a secret,” she said with a wink.

              Usopp just stood there, dumbfounded. Nami sat down across from Bandura,

              “Why do you have so many throwing knives?” she asked.

              “You can never have too many,” Bandura replied.

              “Do you ever lose any?”

              “Haven’t lost one yet,” Bandura replied proudly.

              Nami raised an eyebrow.

              “I’d be more than happy to teach you how to use them Nami.”

              “Really?” Nami asked.

              “Of course, I can show anyone how to use any of these weapons if they want,” Bandura replied.

              By now Usopp had picked up his jaw and his eyes had returned to normal. He knelt next to Bandura and pointed to one of her sling shots,

              “Can you show me how to use that one?” he asked.

              Bandura pulled the sling shot out of its sleeve and held it out to Usopp. The sling shot had a solid ivory handle with tough black leather straps,

              “That’s one of my best sling shots,” she said.

              “It’s incredible,” Usopp said carefully turning the weapon in his hand.

              “With its design you can fire an entire handful of shots at once.”

              “Really?”

              “Yup, I can show you later if you’d like.”

              Usopp shook his head up and down with enthusiasm. He handed he slingshot back to Bandura and she slid it back into its sleeve.

              “Interested in my black long sword are you Zoro?” Bandura had known the moss head had been staring at her special sword for a while.

              Zoro huffed and walked closer,

              “That looks like Hawk Eye Mihawk’s sword,” he said.

              “That’s because it was made by the same sword smith. In fact it was the last sword that man ever made,” Bandura gingerly removed the sword and pointed the hilt at Zoro.

              He slowly gripped the hilt and examined the blade in the fading sunlight. It was a truly magnificent sword, but was by far not Bandura’s best. That sword was safely aboard her ship back in the village docks.

              “This sword has some weight to it,” Zoro commented.

              “The sword smith crafted the hilt for a woman’s hand,” Bandura replied.

              She held out her hand and Zoro placed the blade in it. As soon as he let go Bandura flicked her wrist and wrapped her hand around the hilt. The sword always felt good in her hands and she loved using it.

              “Hey what’s this?”

              Bandura looked down and saw Nami pointing to one of her custom weapons. Bandura replaced her black sword and removed one of the weapons Nami was pointing at.

              “I call them forearm blades,” she explained.

              In her hand Bandura held a dark brown leather sleeve with a light-weight scythe blade along the side. With the guard still on the blade Bandura slid the sleeve up her arm, then held it out from Nami.

              “I don’t think I’ve seen these before,” she said.

              “Not surprisingly, forearm blade aren’t that popular a weapon,” Bandura replied.

              After a moment she removed the blade, replaced it in the bag, rolled it up and placed her weapons bag across her chest. Bandura’s crew mates looked at her in awe and she smiled, they still had a lot to learn about her.

              “How are you with all those weapons?” Zoro asked.

              “Let’s just say I have yet to be defeated,” Bandura replied with a smirk.

              “I’ll be the judge of that.”

              “Can’t wait,” Bandura offered Zoro a wink.

              The swordsman rolled his eyes and sat down on the deck next to Usopp. Robin sat next to Nami and eventually Luffy joined. Luffy started telling Bandura about some of the Straw Hat’s recent adventures, and then everyone started telling all kinds of stories about past adventures. Occasionally Bandura commented on some of her own antics over the years and was laughing right along with her new crew members. Even Zoro would make the occasional comment and let a laugh slip. Bandura was worried the green-haired swordsman would never accept her and continue being cold towards her. It was going to be hard for Bandura to become comfortable with the Straw Hats but it would be even harder if one of them wasn’t trying.

              Because of her lifestyle Bandura never stayed anywhere long so never really grew close to anyone. Also with her way of life Bandura basically trusted no one, when it came down to it anyway. However she knew Luffy and the Straw Hats would not let her go easily, if at all. Their bonds were obvious and strong, and that made the swordswoman envious. She knew her life would have been different, maybe even better, had she allowed herself grow close to and trust someone. But ever since that fateful day when she was nine years old Bandura felt she endangered anyone she grew close to.

              Finally Sanji appeared on the deck with several trays of food and drinks. The blonde cook had a giant grin on his face as he spread his trays on the deck. Everyone pounced on the treats now before them. Bandura devoured anything she could get her hands on and laughed when Luffy failed to steal someone’s snack.

              The Straw Hats and their newest member ate and drank through the night and eventually everyone except Bandura was passed out on the deck of the Thousand Sunny.

              Bandura removed her weapons bag and put it on the deck to use it as a pillow. Lying in the deck of her new home and surrounded by her passed out crew Bandura started thinking, _everyone on this ship is striving for something. I don’t know what I want to do any more. They’re going to ask me soon what my goal is and I just don’t know! I lost so much those eight years that I lost sight of who I wanted to become. Maybe now I can finally figure that out?_

              More and more of those thoughts filled her head as Bandura finally let sleep overtake her.

 

~~~~~

 

              Bandura was the first to wake up in the morning. She quickly gathered all the dishes from the previous night’s celebration and her weapons bag and made her way to the kitchen. After cleaning and putting away everything Bandura decided she would make breakfast for her crew members. In no time Bandura had taken over the kitchen and the sweet smells of her cooking made its way on the deck.

              The first person to stumble in still groggy from sleep was Sanji,

              “Hey Janet, whatcha doin’?”

              “Making breakfast,” she replied.

              “You didn’t have to do that.”

              “I wanted to. Besides I figured with you always making the food I could help you out a little.”

              “Thank you very much Janet.”

              Bandura offered the blonde cook a smile and she swore he almost passed out. Sanji started getting dishes ready and one by one everyone else stumbled their way into the kitchen. Soon everything was ready and everybody pounced. Bandura watched in amazement as Luffy shoveled more and more food into his mouth.

              “Does he ever stop eating?” Bandura leaned over to Usopp who was sitting next to her.

              With a laugh he responded,

              “Not really, I swear he’s always hungry.”

              Bandura smiled at the odd behavior of her captain and how everyone else didn’t seem to take any notice.

              After breakfast was over Bandura stayed again to help Sanji clean up.

              “You know Janet we’ll probably be setting sail soon, what are you going to do with your ship?”

              “Probably grab what I need off of it then leave it here,” Bandura replied.

              “You’re not going to bring it with you?”

              “I don’t need to, besides it’s not going to bother anyone where it is.”

              After Sanji and Bandura finished cleaning up the two went up on deck. Bandura hoped she could form a friendship with the cook, although most of the time Sanji was too busy flirting to have a normal conversation.

              On deck Nami came up to Bandura,

              “Hey Janet we’re going to be shoving off soon, why don’t you head back to your ship and get your stuff,” she said.

              “Sure thing, shouldn’t take me too long,” Bandura replied.

              “Oh and take Zoro with you.”

              Upon hearing his name, the green-haired swordsman woke from his nap,

              “What did you say Nami?”

              “Go with Janet to her ship so she can get the rest of her things,” Nami said.

              “Why do I have to go with her? It’s obvious she can help herself.              “

              “Just get off your ass and go with her!”

              Zoro groaned and lifted himself off the deck. He fell in behind Bandura as she made her way down the dock and led the way through the forest. It wasn’t long before the pair reached the docks. Bandura navigated the docks until her eyes rested on a small ship nestled between two out-of-service fishing vessels. Zoro’s gaze followed her’s,

              “Is that your ship?” he asked.

              “Yup.”

              Bandura hopped aboard her ship and disappeared below. In only a few minutes she reappeared with another bag of weapons and a bag of what little supplies she had left.

              “Is that all you have?” Zoro asked.

              “Yup.”

              Without asking Zoro took the bag of supplies from Bandura.

              “You can start heading back, I’ll be right behind you,” she said.

              Zoro shrugged and began walking away. Bandura unfurled the sail and pulled a knife from her boot. From where he was standing all Zoro heard was the sound of a sail being ripped and a few seconds later Bandura was at his side with her two weapons bags and something tucked under her arm.

              “What’s that?”

              “Just a little something from my ship,” Bandura replied.

              The pair began their walk back to the cove. When they arrived the Thousand Sunny was ready to set sail. Zoro dropped the bag of supplies on the deck and went to his spot to take a nap.

              “Hey Janet what weapons do you have in the box?” Usopp asked.

              The second bag of weapons Bandura grabbed was actually more of a box, a little longer then the bag on her back.

              “These are my primary weapons,” she replied.

              “Cool can we see?”

              “Not now, but you will see them soon.”

              Nami came down from the helm just as Bandura set all of her things at the base of the center mast.

              “Hey Janet, we got your bed set up down in the women’s quarters while you and Zoro were gone,” she said.

              “That’s fine Nami but I’ll sleep out here on the deck.”

              “What? Why?”

              “I don’t do confined spaces.”

              “Um…okay, well… it’s all set up if you need it.”

              “Thanks anyway Nami.”

              Luffy came down from his special seat with yet another goofy grin plastered on his face,

              “Alright let’s set sail!”

 

              The Straw Hats and their newest member were now off on their next great adventure. And what adventures there were to come.


	4. Part 4

War| Part Four

 

              The Straw Hats had been sailing for about three weeks before they needed to stop for supplies. Bandura was enjoying her new life as a pirate, and for the most part her crew welcomed her with open arms. It was no surprise that Zoro was not too enthusiastic about her. Especially after their first sparing match, in which Bandura kicked his ass with her black long sword.

              For the first time in years Bandura felt relaxed. Although she still never let her guard down. Her crew noticed this but they didn’t know what to do about it.

              One day when Bandura was casually hanging from the netting that led up to the crow’s nest, Nami finally broached the subject with Robin.

              “Why do you think Janet is being so distant?”

              Robin lifted her sunglasses and turned toward Nami,

              “She’s been traveling alone for the past couple years so she’s probably not use to having other people around.”

              Nami wasn’t convinced,

              “But why does she have so many weapons? If she’s just been sailing around like she said she was, why would she need all of them?”

              “If you’re so curious Nami, why don’t you go ask her?” Robin pointed to where Bandura was hanging upside-down like a bat.

              “She never gives me a straight answer,” Nami said.

              Both women looked up at Bandura. She had her legs hooked on the ropes and her hands crossed behind her head like a makeshift pillow.

              “She’s like a Zoro bat,” Robin giggles.

              Bandura had been hanging like that for hours. And like she told Nami, she had slept on the deck at the base of the center mast every night, even when it rained. Although she had eaten her first meal in the kitchen, since she had joined the crew she had Sanji bring all of her meals out to her on the deck. The only answer she ever gave was, “I don’t do confined spaces.”

              “Hey guys there’s a village up ahead!” Luffy shouted.

              Usopp took the helm and guided the Thousand Sunny to the dock. Once the ship was secure the crew gathered on deck.

              “Hey Janet!” Nami shouted.

              Bandura opened her eyes and looked down,

              “What?”

              “We just docked, do you want to go into the village?” Nami asked.

              “Nah, I’ll stay and guard the ship.”

              “Are you sure?”

              “Yeah, you guys go ahead.”

              Nami shrugged and looked back to the others. A few things were said before the rest of the Straw Hats filed off the ship. Bandura watched them as they walked away. As soon as they were out of sight Bandura disappeared from napping spot. She reappeared at the base of the center mast and unrolled her first bag of weapons.

              Bandura pulled her small bag of supplies next to her and pulled out a bowl, a bottle of polishing oil and her weapon sharpening tools. Placing the bowl next to her Bandura poured in some of the polishing oil. Then she grabbed one of her throwing knives. Holding one hand above the bowl Bandura took the knife and sliced into her palm. Once enough blood had been added she concentrated on her hand, the cut stopped bleeding and closed itself.

              Then Bandura took the throwing knife and stirred the contents. She pulled a bandana out of her back pocket and dipped it in her bowl of polishing oil and blood. Starting with the throwing knife she used to cut her palm Bandura sharpened and polished all of her weapons in both of her bags. The task took her the rest of the afternoon and the crew had just returned after she drank the contents of the bowl.

              When she saw her crew approaching Bandura giggled. Sanji had his arms full of stock for the kitchen, Luffy’s stomach was swelled which meant he had taken over one of the restaurants and finally Usopp and Zoro were loaded down with shopping bags. Nami and Robin walked in front of the men giggling while Chopper pranced up to Bandura.

              “Hey Janey!” he said.

              “Hey Chopper, how was the town?” Bandura asked.

              “It was okay. Was watching the ship by yourself boring?”

              “Not at all. I’m used to being by myself so it was rather peaceful.”

              “Well you’re not alone now, you asshole~ “ Chopper said with a laugh.

              Bandura chuckled and looked to Usopp and Zoro,

              “Need any help there boys?”

              Both men shot her a glare. She shrugged and went back to the mast.

              After the crew was onboard and all the day’s spoils put away the Thousand Sunny and the Straw Hat Pirates set sail.

~~~~~

              “Marine ship off the port side!”

              Usopp slide down from the crow’s nest, almost hitting Bandura. Nami came up from below followed by Luffy, Sanji and Chopper. Zoro and Robin were already on deck.

              “Did they spot us?” Zoro asked.

              “It looks like they’ve been following us,” Usopp replied.

              “Someone in that town we left yesterday must have called them,” Sanji said.

              Bandura slid down to the deck and eyed the marine vessel heading straight for the Thousand Sunny, she cursed inwardly. Someone in that town did call the marines, but it wasn’t about the Straw Hats. Someone from the docks must have seen her and recognized her wanted poster. The moment she had dreaded was now upon her. The Straw Hats were about to find out what Bandura had really been up to in the years she was sailing by herself.

              “Luffy what should we do?” Usopp asked.

              “Let’s see what they want.”

              “What?! Luffy are you crazy?!” Nami shouted.

              “Luffy is right, we should stop,” Bandura said.

              “What?!”

              “Listen Nami, it’s the best choice right now.”

              Nami just looked at Bandura, not sure what to think. See the Straw Hats had yet to see her fight so Nami was shocked when Bandura agreed with Luffy.

              The Thousand Sunny slowed her pace and it didn’t take long for the marines to catch up. All the Straw Hats gathered on deck, no one took notice of Bandura placing herself in front of them. The marines pulled up beside the pirates, all the crew on deck and armed.

              One man stepped forward, Bandura immediately knew he was in charge.

              “Wolfhelm! I am lieutenant Bridge and I hereby place you under arrest for crimes against the government.”

              “Who is Wolfhelm?” Luffy asked.

              It took Bridge a moment to process,

              “You’re Monkey D. Luffy!”

              “Yup, now who is Wolfhelm?”

              The Straw Hats muttered amongst each other in confusion, except Zoro. Bandura felt his gaze burn into her back, but she refused to meet it. Bridge held up Bandura’s wanted poster and pointed at her,

              “That woman is Wolfhelm. And besides her all of you are under arrest!”

              Everyone on board the Thousand Sunny moved their eyes to Bandura,

              “What is he talking about Janet?” Usopp asked.

              Bandura ignored him, her eyes locked on Bridge.

              “You’re making a mistake lieutenant. I suggest you take your ship and leave now,” she said.

              “Not without you! You demon!”

              Suddenly Bandura disappeared from the deck and Thousand Sunny.

              “Where the hell did she go?!” Bridge shouted.

              The Straw Hats were really confused. They had no idea what was going on. Then Bandura reappeared on the deck of the marine’s ship, right in front of Bridge. The lieutenant jumped and took a few steps back.

              “You should really listen to me Bridge,” she stated calmly, “leave no and you and your men will live.”

              “Wow, what was that?!” Luffy shouted.

              “You truly are crazy if you think we are going to let you go,” Bridge growled, pulling out his pistol.

              “Don’t pull that toy on me unless you plan on using it.”

              Bridge smiled, “maybe I will.”

              Bandura placed her hands on her hips, unimpressed by the lieutenant’s threat. She took a step forward,

              “I’ll tell you what Bridge, I’ll give you one shot,” she said.

              “What?”

              “I’ll give you one shot to kill me.”

              “Janet what are you doing? Are you crazy?!” Nami screamed.

              Bandura ignores Nami, her gaze stilled fixed on Bridge. The lieutenant did not know what to do. Did the world’s most wanted swordswoman really just give him a chance to kill her? It had to be a trick. Bandura was growing impatient with Bridge’s silence,

              “Would you take the damn shot already?! I do not have all day lieutenant!” she shouts.

              The jaws of the Straw Hats on the Thousand Sunny drop. _What the hell is she doing?_ Zoro thinks.

              Bridge’s face hardens as he brings his pistol up to Bandura’s heart. She grins when she sees Bridge’s hand shaking.

              “Nervous lieutenant?” she smirks.

              “Shut up you demon. I’m sending you back to hell,” he growls.

              With a still shanking hand Bridge squeezes the trigger. The bullet misses Bandura’s heart and instead goes straight through her shoulder. Her upper body is pushed back by the force of the shot however her feet stay planted on the deck of the marine ship.

              “NO!”

              “Janet!”

              “Janey!”

              Bandura quickly recovers from the shot. Her body straightens and she looks at the hole the bullet made in her shoulder.

              “I am disappointed Bridge,” she says, head lifting to meet the lieutenant’s shocked gaze, “you wasted your shot.”


	5. Part 5

War | Part 5

 

              “What the hell?!”

              “How did she survive that?!”

              “How is she still standing?!”

              Bandura hears all these questions and smiles. Bridge feels his gun pulled from his hand then sees it skidding across the deck of his ship. He looks at the woman he just shot, who hadn’t moved an inch.

              “What the hell did you just do?” Bridge asks drawing his sword.

              “You should know bullets cannot kill me lieutenant.”

              A forearm blade appears on Bandura’s right arm. Bridge tightens his grip on his sword. The Straw Hats could not believe what they were seeing. Luffy looked at Bandura with awe while the others looked on in shock and confusion.

              “This is your last chance lieutenant,” Bandura’s voice booms, “leave now or you and your men will die!”

              Bridge growls in response.

              With lightning speed Bandura lurches forward, slashing her blade across the lieutenant’s chest. Bridge staggers, looking down in horror at his wound. Before he could raise his sword Bandura slashes her blade downward, making Bridge collapse on the deck. The marines look on in horror as their leader is cut down and the Straw Hats look on in silence.

              Bandura’s eyes cross over all of the marines,

              “Are you men willing to die for your lieutenant?”

              The marines don’t take time to think. All at once the men lurch forward with swords drawn. Bandura meets them all and cuts them down two at a time. Just minutes after being shot Bandura kills every single marine on the ship. She stands facing away from Luffy and the others staring at the bodies of the marines that would not say no. She smiles slightly, but not because the marines are dead.

              After what felt like an eternity Bandura turns to face her crew. The Straw Hats have blank expressions as they meet the gaze of their newest member. Bandura stands in the middle of the deck, covered in blood, surrounded by dead marines. She says nothing and waits for her captain to speak.

              “Well Janet, what are you waiting for? Get back on board before more marines show up.”

              Bandura nods and jumps back on board the Thousand Sunny. Chopper steps forward with his medical bag but Bandura shakes her head,

              “The wound will heal by morning.”

              Chopper frowns and pulls Bandura down on the deck,

              “As the doctor of the ship I need to examine your injury.”

              Bandura shrugs as Chopper beings to take out the necessary supplies.

              “You are going to need to take your shirt off Janet”, he says with a slight blush.

              Chopper is about to tell everyone to clear the deck when he sees Bandura pull off her blood-stained shirt. Chopper drops the needle in his hoof as everyone’s jaw drops. Bandura removes her loose-fitting long-sleeve shirt to reveal a torso completely covered in gauze. The gauze is wrapped tightly around her lean, muscular frame, Chopper is shocked.

              “What the hell?”

              Bandura drops her head,

              “All of this happened a long time ago. But I have to keep it all wrapped because sometimes one of the wounds will reopen.”

              Nobody knows what to say. They all see the bullet hole in Bandura’s left shoulder had stopped bleeding and was beginning to close itself.

              “How the hell did you do all that?” Nami asks.

              Bandura guesses she’s talking about her wounds and not what she just did to the marines,

              “It’s a long story,” she lifts her head meeting Nami’s gaze, “one I cannot tell.”

~~~~~

              The Straw Hats quickly sail away from the marine ship, but not before Bandura sinks it.

              “Where should we go now?” Usopp asks.

              “There’s a town not far from here, we should be safe there,” Bandura replies.

              Bandura takes the helm while everyone else busies themselves around the ship. After a few hours Zoro goes up to the helm to check on Bandura. She’s leaning against the railing, a throwing knife dancing between her fingers. Even though she put on another long sleeve shirt all Zoro could see was her gauze,

              “Why don’t you wear a tank top or something? We all know about the gauze,” he says.

              Bandura chuckles and turns around with her back against the railing, throwing knife still dancing between her fingers,

              “I only own long sleeve shirts.”

              “Really?”

              “I have to cover up the gauze. It unnerves people and draws unwanted attention.”

              “What happened to you Wolfie?”

              “Wolfie Zoro? Really?”

              “I figured you would prefer that to Wolfhelm.”

              “Whatever moss head.”

              “What happened?”

              “No.”

              “Why?”

              Bandura frowns and turns away from Zoro. Zoro walks closer, now leaning against the railing next to her.

              “I am not going to tell you Zoro,” she says.

              “Why?”

              “Because to tell what happened would be to relive it.”

              “What is that bad?”

              Bandura flexes her shoulder blades, attempting to hide the shudder passing through her body. But Zoro notices.

              “You have no idea,” Bandura says before walking away.

              Zoro yells to Usopp to take the helm as he follows Bandura down to the main deck. She does her best to ignore him while also trying to keep her body from shaking uncontrollably. Zoro reaches a hand to her shoulder. Bandura sees the hand, momentarily forgetting who it belongs to. She grabs Zoro’s hand and with great ease pulls him over her head and slams his body in the deck. As soon as he makes contact Bandura is crouched over him, throwing knife at his throat.

              Zoro looks up in shock and notices Bandura’s eyes are slightly clouded,

              “Leave it alone,” she growls.

              “Janey!”

              Chopper rushes to Bandura’s side and places a hoof on her arm. Bandura’s eyes clear and she takes her knife away from Zoro’s throat. Chopper looks over Zoro as Bandura climbs to the very top of the main mast. She perches herself on top of the mast and squeezes her eyes shut. Bandura slows her breathing as her nails dig into her thigh as she gets her body under control.

              Down on deck Chopper clears Zoro with no injuries but some pretty bad bruising. Sanji comes out from the kitchen to let everyone know dinner is ready and sees Chopper and Zoro.

              “What happened to you?”

              “Janey flipped and slammed Zoro on the deck,” Chopper replied.

              “What did you do to Janet-shwan you stupid marimo?!”

              “I only wanted to know how she got her injuries,” Zoro said.

              “You stupid moss head! You-“

              Sanji was stopped when a hand covers his mouth. Robin saunters over,

              “Why don’t you two shut up? Let’s eat dinner and leave Janet alone.”

              Sanji agrees and follows Robin into the kitchen like a love sick idiot. Chopper goes as well and Zoro casts one last look at the top of the main mast before following the others.

 

              After dinner everyone goes to bed and Bandura gets the night watch without anyone saying anything. Eventually she climbs down from atop the mast and stretches herself at the base.

~~~~~

              Bandura is the first to wake. She climbs to the top of the center mast and looks at the horizon. Her heart swells when she sees the familiar land mass that holds the town of Leona.

              “Land dead ahead!” she shouts.

              The crew wakes and make their way on deck.

              “How long until we dock?” Nami asks.

              Bandura jumps off the mast, landing gracefully in front of the navigator,

              “At this speed no more than three hours,” she replies.

              Every cheered and Luffy began shouting something about meat. Bandura giggled at Luffy and feels someone staring at her, she knows who it is. She looks up at Zoro, an apologetic look on her face. Zoro stands in front of her.

              “I’m sorry about yesterday Zoro.”

              “You don’t need to be sorry Wolfie it was my fault, I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

              Bandura smiles but sees Zoro flinch as he draws a deep breath. She brings herself closer to Zoro and gently lifts his shirt, he doesn’t stop her. Bandura’s breath hitches when she sees the bruising on Zoro’s ribcage. She carefully traces the outline of the bruise, causing Zoro to shiver under her surprisingly gently touch. Bandura’s eyes catch part of the scar Zoro received from fighting Hawk Eye. She had heard about the fight between the moss head and her brother. But seeing the scar on his chest confirms he survived.

              “That’s from Hawk Eye, isn’t it?” she asks.

              Zoro gently takes her hand and pulls his shirt down,

              “How about this, I’ll tell you about mine when you tell me about yours.”

              Bandura looks up at Zoro and smiles,

              “Okay.”

 

              Like Bandura said the Thousand Sunny pulled into the docks at Leona with the hour. Luffy was out of sight in a flash. Sanji went to buy stock for the kitchen. Zoro and Usopp wandered off leaving Bandura with Nami, Robin and Chopper.

              “Why don’t we buy you some new clothes Janet?” Nami suggests.

              “You don’t have to Nami,” Bandura says.

              “Nami has a point Janey, you own how many long sleeve shirts… three?” Robin asks.

              “I own four,” Bandura says.

              “We are buying you clothes Janet,” Nami states.

              “Fine. But I am not paying you back Nami.”

              Nami smiles and pulls Bandura towards Leona’s shopping district, Robin and Chopper follow.

 

              Even though Bandura agreed to let Nami buy her clothes, she did not make it easy for the navigator. Other than being plain stubborn when Nami showed her clothes that were far too revealing Bandura down right refused anything she saw as too expensive. After a couple hours of shopping, and only two bags of clothes, Nami calls a break and Bandura guides the group over to a vendor selling smoothies.

              “Janet can I ask you a question?”

              “Sure Nami.”

              “Why do you only wear long sleeve shirts?”

              Bandura responds by lifting her shirt and showing Nami her gauze.

              “Is it really that bad?”

              Bandura nods.

              “Are you always wrapped in gauze?”

              Bandura nods again.

              “How come you’ve never taken a shower or a bath?” Robin asks.

              Bandura stops sipping her smoothie,

              “Don’t need to,” she says with her mouth full.

              Nami was about to say something when Bandura picked up a whispered conversation.

              “Give us the basket you old prune.”

              “Hand it over now and we won’t hurt you.”

              Bandura hands Robin her smoothie and takes off in the direction of the conversation. By time Nami, Robin and Chopper catch up to her Bandura is standing with her back to an old man with two thugs weeping on the ground.

              “Janey what the heck was all that about?”

              Bandura ignores Nami and turns to kneel in front of the old man,

              “Are you alright Abi? Did they hurt you?”

              “I’m fine child, thank you. It is so good to see you my dear.”

              Nami and the others are confused.

              “Umm… Janey… who is this?” Chopper asks.

              Bandura turns to the others when Old Man Abi smacks the back of her head with his walking stick.

              “OW! What the hell was that for?!” Bandura whines, rubbing the back of her head.

              “For being rude and not introducing me to your friends,” Abi replied.

              Bandura points to the others,

              “This is Nami, Robin and Chopper. Guys this is Old Man Abi,” she says rubbing the bump growing on her head.

              “There is no need to add ‘old man’, ‘Abi’ would have been just fine,” Abi goes to hit her again but Bandura blocks his stick with her forearm.

              “Nice try _old man_.”

              “It’s nice to meet you Abi,” Robin says. Nami and Chopper nod.

              Abi smiles, the wrinkles on his face deepening,

              “You are all very kind, please come back to my home and I will make you lunch.”

              “And by ‘I’ he means me,” Bandura comments.

              Everyone nods in agreement. Bandura turns around so her back is to Abi. The old man drapes his arms around her neck as she hooks his legs under her arms. She asks Chopper to slide Abi’s walking stick trough her elbows so the old man isn’t jostled as much as she walks. Chopper does so and before she stands up Bandura hooks the basket Abi was carrying with his walking stick.

              Standing up Bandura leads Chopper, Nami and Robin to a small cottage tucked away in the trees just outside of Leona.

              “Hey Chopper do you think you could go find Zoro and the others and bring them here?” Bandura asks.

              “Of course Janey!” Chopper replies.

              Chopper leaves as Bandura gets Abi settled in his chair that sits in the middle of his living room. Abi gestures for Nami and Robin to have a seat on one of the couches in the room. The women sit, the shopping bags on the other end of the couch. Bandura starts putting away the things in Abi’s basket and began making lunch, in no time there was smoke curling out from the chimney and the delicious scent of wafting through the cottage.

              “Lunch smells delicious Janey!” Nami says.

              “So how long have you know Janet?” Abi asks.

              Bandura smiles and offers Abi a silent “thank you” for not telling Nami and Robin her real name.

              “Almost a month,” Robin replies.

              “Has she given you any trouble?” Abi asks with a wink.

              Nami and Robin giggle,

              “Not at all. In fact she helped us out of a pretty sticky situation with the marines just the other day.”

              Old Man Abi turns to Bandura, she only nods.

              “How do you know Janey?” Nami asks.

              “Oh I met Janey many years ago the first time she came here to Leona,” Abi replies.

              Upon hearing Abi’s reply Bandura burns herself on a pot, cursing silently. Nami and Robin don’t notice but Abi turns his head slightly. He is about to say something when there’s knocking at the door.

              “That’s the others,” Bandura says.

              Nami gets up and pulls the front door open. And sure enough Chopper, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Luffy walk in. Luffy takes one whiff of Bandura’s cooking and his eyes turn into stars,

              “MEAT!”

              He goes towards the kitchen but is tripped when Abi pokes out his walking stick. Luffy lands face first on the floor.

              “You will wait until everything is done young man.”

              Luffy sits up,

              “Who’s the old guy?”

              “This is Abi,” Nami says, “he’s a friend of Janey’s.”

              “Oh cool!” Luffy says.

              Everybody is introduced and takes a seat. Sanji tried to take over cooking but Bandura shoos him away with the wave of a steak knife. In only a few more minutes Bandura has lunch ready. She skillfully balances plates for everyone on her arms and brings them to the living room. After the food Bandura goes back into the kitchen and returns with a tray of drinks. By time Bandura finally sits down at the foot of Abi’s chair everyone is halfway through their meals.

              Through mouths full of food she hears,

              “Great job Janey!”

              “This is fantastic!”

              “This meat is delicious. You have some pretty tough competition now Sanji!”

              “Would you shut up Luffy? Great job Janey~.”

              “How about both of you shut up and eat the food Wolfie made?”

              Bandura smiled at Zoro, she did prefer “Wolfie” to Wolfhelm. While she ate Bandura felt Abi’s eyes on her. Abi saw the gauze beneath her shirt and knew they would need to be changed. After everyone finished Sanji took over and insisted on cleaning up. Bandura was going to say something when Abi placed a wrinkled hand on her shoulder,

              “When was the last time you changed your bandages child?”

              “A little over a month ago,” Bandura replies.

              Abi frowns, then points to one of the doors off the living room,

              “I will be in in a moment.”

              Bandura lifted herself off the floor and trudges in to the room. Leaning heavily on his walking stick Abi pushes out of his chair and begins hobbling after Bandura.

              “Where ya goin’ old man?” Luffy asks.

              “Young Janet needs her wounds tended to,” Abi replies.

              “Wounds?”

              “She does not wear those bandages as a fashion statement.”

              Abi steps into the room after Bandura and closes the door. Before the door closes Zoro catches a glimpse if Bandura lying face down on a table with no shirt on. His eyes widen when he sees the stains seeping through the bandages.


	6. Part 6

War | Part 6

 

Old Man Abi and Bandura were behind the closed door for almost two hours. Throughout that time sitting in the living room the Straw Hats heard the occasional animal-like growl and Abi constantly scolding Bandura for not taking better care of her wounds. Everyone shifted uncomfortable in the silence, except for Luffy who was passed out. Zoro tried to take a nap but was unsuccessful. The image of Bandura on that table had burned itself onto the inside of his eyelids. It was also getting quite chilly.

When Abi finally appeared he held in one hand a small basket overflowing with bloodied gauze. He went straight to the fireplace behind the couch opposite the room he just came from. He tosses the bandages on the dormant logs and lit them with a lighter he produced from the folds of his robe. Then Abi turns to the Straw Hats,

“If you need to add more wood there is a rack on the right side of the door outside. You probably saw it when you first arrived.”

Then Abi hobbles back into the room with Bandura.

 

“You have to tell them Bandura!”

“Keep your voice down Abi, they might hear you.”

Abi frowned as he collapsed onto a chair next to the bed Bandura lay on.

“Bandura,” Abi says lowering his voice.

She buries her face in her arms,

“I know.”

“Why haven’t you told them?”

Bandura lifts her head,

“Are you kidding me? I didn’t want them knowing I am Wolfhelm! But then those damned marines showed up-“

“Watch how you talk of the dead, child.”

Bandura’s face falls back into her arms,

“How can I tell them when I cannot bear to think about it?”

She begins to weep silently. Abi places a wrinkled hand on the bare skin of her shoulder,

“How about you show them?”

Bandura nods,

“I want Chopper to see first.”

Abi nods and goes to fetch the little reindeer man.

 

“Janey!”

Chopper takes one look at Bandura’s back and rushes over to her. Bandura hides her face when Chopper sits next to her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks.

“I-“

“Young Janet cannot handle the memories that come with recounting the tale of the wounds,” Abi says.

Chopper looks at Bandura, she only nods. The reindeer looks at his friend’s back and begins to cry. He goes to hug her when Bandura sits up and takes Chopper in her arms. She wraps her arm around the little reindeer and hides her tear stained face in his fur. Chopper hugs her back, blushing slightly when he notices her chest is not covered. After a moment Bandura sets Chopper back in his seat and lies back down on her stomach.

“Chopper the reason you are seeing this is because you will need to tend Janet’s wounds during your travels,” Abi says.

Chopper nods, “how often will the gauze need to be changed?”

“Once a month, once every two months at the very least.”

Chopper looks over Bandura’s back again, and soon feels tears coming. Bandura reaches for his hoof,

“Don’t cry for me Chopper.”

“Then who will?” Chopper asks between sniffles.

“You still need to show the others Janet,” Abi says.

“Thank you Chopper,” Bandura whispers.

Chopper nods before Abi leads him out.

One after another the rest of the crew find out what was hidden between Bandura’s gauze. Many tears were shed and hugs were exchanged. Even Sanji was so taken aback by her wounds that he didn’t fully process that Bandura was completely topless on the bed in front of him. The last person who had yet to see Bandura was Zoro. And she hesitated.

“What’s wrong child?” Abi asks.

“I don’t want him to see me like this,” Bandura whimpers.

“You didn’t show this much resistance with your other friends. Why is this man so different?”

“He survived a battle with Mihawk.”

“Mihawk? Let me ask you Bandura, when was the last time you saw your brother?”

Bandura feels tears jump to her eyes,

“I haven’t see Sparrow… since… the day I sent him away… all… those years ago,” she chokes between tears.

“This man reminds you of Mihawk, doesn’t he?”

Bandura nods.

“He must see my child.”

Abi goes over to the door. He sticks his head out and calls Zoro. Zoro rigidly approaches the door. Abi brings him and goes into the living room.

At first Zoro keeps his gaze averted. He comes to sit next to Bandura and finally lifts his gaze. His face goes pale and his breath catches.

“…Wolfie…”

 

Bandura’s back, to put it simple, is a horrendous battlefield of scars.

From her shoulder blades to the base of her spine, is nothing but red. Because the wounds that reopened were freshly stitched blood was still trying to pump through them. The scene before Zoro was not anything he had expected.

Wounds from swords and knives cut along every inch of skin. Some didn’t go deep, yet others seemed to go to the very bone. Marks from whips left horrible scars. There were spots were it looked like the flesh was gouged out. Bandura’s back was pocketed with burns. From fire, iron and acid. Zoro reached out a shaky hand to trace a jagged scar that went along her spine.

Now the bullet holes, they were perhaps the worst. Holes ranging from the size of a grape to the size of a baseball ravaged her skin. There were patches of skin lighter than others, signaling the damage done to them. Tears flowed freely from Zoro’s eyes.

_How can a person survive all this?_

As if hearing his thought Bandura lifted her head,

“These aren’t the worst.”

Bandura sits up and reveals the worst of her injuries. Zoro almost faints. From the middle of the right side of her rib cage to the top of her hip was a deep gouge that was three inches wide. The skin was red and puckered, about ready to open.

“Bear trap,” Bandura says with a weak smile.

Zoro’s eyes then find the jagged scar that disappears down the front of Bandura’s stomach. His finger traces it carefully.

“They fixed me.”

He looks at her,

“… like an animal,” she whispers.

Zoro pulls Bandura, burying his face in her hair. Bandura buries her face in his chest and cries.

 

Abi comes in a few minutes later, finding the two in the same position. He approaches them, placing a hand on Zoro’s shoulder.

“We need to apply the gauze now.”

Zoro nods and pulls away from Bandura. Abi sets to work and has Bandura fully covered and wrapped in a few minutes. Abi reaches to the wall and pulls a long sleeveless shirt off a hook. Bandura slips it on and with help from Zoro limps back into the living room to the others.

Bandura has her head down as Zoro guides her to the couch closest to the fire. Everyone silently observes her, waiting for her to speak.

“I understand if you don’t want me to be a part of your crew anymore,” she says.

Luffy, who after seeing Bandura is wide awake, walks over to her,

“Janet. There is no way in hell you are leaving us,” he says, “you are part of my crew and that’s final!”

Bandura looks into the eyes of her captain and smiles,

“Thank you Luffy.”

~~~~~

Bandura and the Straw Hats stay with Old Man Abi for a couple days. Luffy and the others become very close to Abi and quickly understand why Bandura trusted him with her secrets. However, one day Abi calls everyone together outside of his cottage.

“I must speak to each of you privately,” he says, “I will call you in one at a time.”

Everybody nods, Abi calls Luffy in first.

 

Abi takes a seat in his chair and motions Luffy to stand before him.

“Now Luffy,” he starts, “you are the captain yes?”

“Yes sir,” Luffy replies.

“Listen to me Luffy, you need to watch Janet.”

“What?”

“In battle, you must watch her. While I may not be able to tell you much about Janet’s past, what I can tell you is for eight years she was forced to kill for survival.”

“Really?”

Abi nods, “when I met her she said she did not want to be a mindless killing machine anymore. You must help her achieve this.”

Luffy nods. Abi sends him out and tells him to send Chopper in next.

One after the next each of the Straw Hats are called in. Abi gives each of them advice about dealing with Bandura and thanks them for saving her. Soon only Zoro and Bandura herself are left. Sanji emerges from the cottage with a somber look on his face,

“You’re up Zoro.”

 

“Zoro let me ask you something, do you care for Janet?” Abi asks.

“Of course I do,” Zoro replies, “even though she’s only been with us a month she’s family now.”

Abi smiles, “but how much do _you_ care for her Zoro?”

Zoro pauses but his features harden, “I would do anything for her.”

“That is good. Now listen close to what I’m about to tell you… Janet cares for you, more so than she does the others.”

Zoro is able to keep his face neutral but inside he just about lost it.

“You know she didn’t even want you to see her wounds,” Abi continues, “she told me she didn’t want you to see her like that.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Care for her as much as she does you,” Abi replies, “while the others may be able to help her only you can save her.”

Zoro nods, “as long as there is air in my lungs.”

Abi smiles, “you may go. Send in Janet.”

 

“Your turn Wolfie,” Zoro gently squeezes Bandura’s shoulder before going to the others.

 

“Come to me my child.”

Bandura walks up to Abi and kneels before him. Abi reaches out a wrinkled hand and brushes a strand of hair from her face. Bandura immediately begins fighting back tears,

“You are such a brave soul and I couldn’t be more proud of the woman you have become. Bandura, you have found the best possible home for yourself. Those pirates will defend you and never give up on you. Stay with them and they will help you become the person you desire to be.”

Tears now flow freely down Bandura’s face, “I wouldn’t have met them if it wasn’t for you Abi. You saved my life and showed me there are still good people in this world.”

“You are the daughter I never had and I cannot put into words how much you mean to me Bandura… which makes it all the more harder for me to tell you this-“

“No.”

“Bandura, my time i-“

“No!”

“Listen to me child!... my time in this world is up.”

Bandura shudders and chokes, “please no.”

Abi takes Bandura’s hands in his,

“You hate this just as much as I do, but there is nothing to be done,” Abi says solemnly, “I can at least take comfort in knowing you are no longer alone.”

Bandura’s head rests on Abi’s knees, trying to hide her tears, “please don’t leave me, I can’t lose another father.”

“Bandura look at me,” she looks up, “find your brother, find Mihawk.”

She nods. Abi sinks back into his chair and takes his final breath. Bandura’s head drops back to his knees, her grips on his hands tightens and she screams.

 

Abi is dead.


	7. Part 7

War | Part 7

 

              Everyone jumped when they heard Bandura scream. Zoro immediately bolts for the cottage.

              “What the hell?”

              “What’s going on?”

              Zoro busted through the door to find Bandura on her knees in front of Abi, clutching his hands. Her body is raked with sobs as she lets out another scream. Everyone piles behind Zoro,

              “What’s Janet doing?”

              “What’s wrong with Abi?”

              Zoro growls, “Abi’s dead you idiots!”

              He goes over to Bandura and kneels beside her,

              “Wolfie.”

              “He’s dead Zoro… he’s dead… he’s dead…”

              Zoro goes to place a hand on Bandura’s shoulder when she jumps up. She rushes into the room Abi cleaned her wounds and returns with a shovel and a large blanket. Pushing Zoro aside Bandura sets the shovel down and wraps Abi with the blanket along with his walking stick. She hooks the shovel with her arm and gently picks up Abi’s lifeless form. Walking past the others Bandura goes out to the clearing in front of the cottage. Setting Abi’s body down she begins digging.

              It takes her a while but eventually Bandura gets the hole dug. She climbs out, scoops up Abi’s body and goes back down. When she comes up she holds only the shovel.

              She fills in the hole, walks back into the cottage, drops the shovel and collapses in front of the fireplace into a troubled sleep.

~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~

_Abi had just gotten home and was looking forward to relaxing a bit. With the help of his walking stick he grabs two bottles of sake from his kitchen and the book he was reading from his bedroom. Just as he was about to sit down he hears the loud crack of thunder._

_“Best get a fire started before the rain starts.”_

_So he goes and collects wood from the rack outside his home and soon has a roaring fire going in his fireplace. He settles down in his chair and finally cracks open his book. Abi sits there for a while just reading and listening to the storm now raging outside. Then he remembers the two bottles of sake sitting on the side table next to him. He grabs one and is just about to pop the cork when there’s a loud SMACK at his front door. Abi jumps, but doesn’t move._

_He listens closely to see if he can hear it again, he hears nothing. He listens for a little while longer and then his picks up what sounds like heavy breathing._

_“What the hell?”_

_Abi puts the bottle of sake back on the table, pulls himself out of his chair and limps over to the front door. Opening it he almost falls over._

_Lying on a heap on his doorstep was a young woman, first glance he guessed early 20’s, who was covered in blood. Her shoulder length black hair acted as a curtain, blocking her face from view. Looking at her hands and feet they were just as bloody as the rest of her. Abi tossed his walking stick on his couch and gathered the poor thing in his arms._

_“Don’t worry miss, I’ll get you fixed up.”_

_He carried her in his house, slammed the door shut and placed her in front of the fireplace. As fast as he bad legs would take him Abi ran into his examination room and gathered what he needed. Kneeling down in front of the strange girl he starts to cut off her clothes._

_“Sorry kid, but I need to get to all your wounds if you want to live.”_

_The girl passes out and Abi worked tirelessly through the night, fighting to keep her alive. At around seven o’clock the next morning he had her all stitched and wrapped up and lying comfortably on his couch. Abi forced himself to shower, washed all the blood off and collapsed in his chair, quickly falling asleep._

_\----- Evening the Same Day -----_

_Bandura wakes up and is immediately hit with a wave of pain. She is not phases however and forces herself into siting position. She’s on a couch, she’s in a house, the fireplace is dead and there is a man sleeping in a chair. Swinging her legs onto the floor she stands. She looks down and sees the gauze covering her body. Bandura goes over to the fireplace. She takes note of the blood stained floor and the bloody medical tools sitting on the stone ledge._

_Then man in the chair stirs and she immediately grabs the fire poker. She moves next to the man and points the fire poker at his heart. He stirs again and opens his eyes. Abi sees Bandura and the poker pointed at his heart._

_“So you’re awake,” he says calmly._

_Bandura says nothing._

_“Is this any way to thank the man that saved your life?” he asks._

_“What the hell are you talking about?” she growls._

_“Your injures did not fix themselves,” Abi replies._

_Bandura feels a pain in the back of her head and stumbles backwards, the fire poker falling to the floor. Her body begins shaking as she grips the sides of her head. Her nails digging into her scalp. Abi jumps up and stands in front of her. Bandura’s mind is being bombarded with the events that led her to Abi’s doorstep. All the pain, blood, hiding and running hitting her like cannon fire. Abi has no idea what to do._

_“Can you still talk?” he asks._

_“Y-yes,” Bandura stutters._

_“Alright then keep talking we can get you through this kid.”_

_“Don’t c-call me kid,” Bandura growls, “old man.”_

_Abi chuckles, “at least you have a sense of humor.”_

_“I wouldn’t call it humor.”_

_“Tell me your name.”_

_“You first,” she growls._

_“Abi, now you,” Abi replies._

_“Bandura… I think.”_

_“You think?”_

_“I haven’t been called that name in eleven years.”_

_Bandura stops shaking and falls against Abi. He stumbles and almost falls. He eases back onto the couch, then Abi grabs his walking stick and cleans up the mess in front of the fire place. Once everything was cleaned he gets a new fire going. Once again Abi falls in his chair. He looks at Bandura and feels tears begin to form his eyes._ What happened to her? _He asks himself. Eleven years without her name. What was she called? What was she doing?_

_After giving himself a rest Abi went into his kitchen to make a midnight snack. Back in the living room Abi puts a tray of food on the table in front of the couch. He was far from done with Bandura, and Bandura was far from healed._

_\----- Next Morning -----_

_Bandura woke to find Abi crouched in front of the fireplace, and it was obvious struggling. With a huff she got off the couch and sat next to him._

_“Having trouble?” she asks._

_Abi grunts and continues trying to get the fire going. Bandura moves his hands,_

_“Let me,” she says._

_Before Abi can complain Bandura’s index finger becomes engulfed in flames. She holds it underneath the dormant logs and they quickly catch fire. Bandura withdraws her hand and looks at Abi. The doctor has fallen back on his heels, eyes bulging out of his head and his jaw on the floor._

_“You okay old man?” she asks._

_“What the hell are you?”_


	8. Part 8

War| Part 8

 

              _“What do you mean,” Bandura asks._

_“How… how can… how can you do that?” Abi stutters, “I know of only one person who can do that and he is still alive.”_

_Bandura looks away from Abi and hunches her shoulders. After a moment Abi realizes what he said and smacks himself across the face. He stands and holds a hand to Bandura,_

_“I’m sorry Bane,” he said, “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”_

_Bandura takes his hand but does not look him in the eye. Abi helps her back to the couch and sees the untouched tray of food on the table. He takes it and starts for the kitchen,_

_“I’ll warm this up so it tastes better.”_

_“You don’t need to,” Bandura says._

_Abi stops, “what?”_

_“You don’t need to warm up the food,” she replies, “I’ll eat it as it is.”_

_Abi shrugs and places the tray back on the table. Bandura takes the food and devours it in seconds. She is about to reach for the glass of water when she freezes._

_“Are you alright Bane?” Abi asks._

_Bandura shakes herself back into focus, withdrawing her hand. She looks at Abi,_

_“You called me Bane.”_

_“Yes…”_

_“No one’s called me that in a long time,” she says._

_Abi sits next to Bandura on the couch. His eyes pass over her, and he finally notices how skinny she is. He gently places a hand on her bandaged arm, she flinches slightly,_

_“What happened to you? What were you doing for eleven years that you weren’t called your own name?” he asks desperately._

_Bandura looks into the eyes of the man who saved her. She knew she would have to tell him what happened to her, but she couldn’t bear to speak of it. Her once dormant mind sprang to life, thinking of what and how to tell Abi of the past eleven years of her life. Then she notices the scars on Abi’s left leg and his walking stick leaning against the couch._

_“What happened to your leg?”_

_Abi chuckled, he knew exactly what Bandura was doing. But he might as well play along._

_“I use to be a doctor on a pirate ship,” Abi takes note of Bandura flinching at the mention of pirates, “I was severely injured in a fight and my captain decided it was best for me to leave the crew.”_

_Bandura’s eyes traced the nasty scars on Abi’s legs, “so they dropped you here?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Were you mad at them?”_

_“No, in fact it was my suggestion that convinced my captain to let me go.”_

_“What?”_

_“Having a cripple on board, let alone a crippled doctor, is a danger to the crew. My captain saw this and knew the best thing was for me to leave the ship.”_

_“Is that why you have that stick?”_

_“Yes. I can usually walk around here without it. Unfortunately I’ve become dependent on it.”_

_Bandura falls silent, her eyes travel to the glass of water, Abi follows her gaze,_

_“There isn’t any poison in it,” he says, “if that’s what you’re worried about.”_

_Bandura grabs the glass and guzzles the water. She wipes her mouth and puts the empty class on the table,_

_“Doesn’t matter if there was poison in it,” she replies, “it wouldn’t have killed me.”_

_Abi eyes widened, “what?”_

_“I said poison can’t kill me.”_

_Abi puts the glass on the tray and goes to the kitchen. Bandura’s gaze follows him, immediately noticing he is shaking. With a heavy sigh she leans back against the couch. Her body is supposed to be in severe pain, but she is completely numb. It is true that poison cannot kill her, in fact she is unsure of what_ could _kill her._

_For the next few weeks Bandura stayed in Abi’s cottage. The former pirate doctor restrained himself from asking his patient about the cause of her injures. It was clear that Bandura had been through hell and back, he just couldn’t get her to talk about it. Her mind was still too fragile to deal with those horrid memories, that much was obvious._

_Abi was pulled from his sleep by screaming. He jumps out of bed and rushes into the living room, where the screams are coming from. Abi finds Bandura on the couch curled up in the fetal position, body shaking uncontrollably, eyes squeezed shut, screaming. He rushes over to the girl and grabs her shoulder,_

_“Bane! Wake up!” he shouts._

_“I don’t want to go back!” Bandura cries, “Don’t take me back! I don’t want to die!”_

_Abi starts shaking her, “Wake up!”_

_Bandura screams one last time then is jolted awake. Abi sighs in relief and pulls the shaking young woman to his chest,_

_“Everything is alright child, “he murmurs, “You won’t be going back to that place.”_

_He looks down and sees tears running down Bandura’s cheeks. He pulls her tighter against him, trying to stop her from shaking._

_“Can you speak?” Abi asks._

_“I don’t want to be a murderer anymore,” Bandura whimpers._


	9. Part 9

War| Part 9

 

              When Bandura finally woke up she was exhausted. The cottage is quiet and cold. Standing up and stretching she sees everyone else is asleep in the living room. Zoro is sleeping closet to her, propped up against the back of the couch. Looking over at Abi’s empty chair Bandura feels another wave at of emotions coming. Going over to it she thinks how much her life had changed because of the old man who sat in that chair. Bandura had never been allowed to sit in that chair when Abi was alive.

              Turning around so her back was to the chair, Bandura grips the arm rests and lowers herself into it. It is a very comfortable chair. Bandura suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her head where Abi had hit her a few days ago. Rubbing the back of her head she laughs,

              “Even when you’re gone you’re still hitting me with that damn stick.”

              Bandura lets herself sink back in the chair and sleep overcome her again.

~~~~~ _Another Flashback! ~~~~~_

_“I’m ready.”_

_Abi looks up from his book, Bandura stands in the doorway. Her bandages are covered in dirt and she has a nasty cut on her forehead._

_“What happened?!” Abi pulls himself from his chair, goes over to Bandura, grabs her arm and drags her into his examination room._

_Bandura lifts herself on the examination table and swings her legs. Abi quickly cleans the cut on her face and stitches it close. Then he instructs her to take her gauze off. Bandura pulls a knife from her boot. Cutting straight down from her neck to her waist she shrugs off the gauze like it was a coat. Bandura lies on the table as Abi cleans up her back. When he was done Bandura quickly wrapped back up is gauze. The two sit in the examination room in silence for a while._

_“What happened?”_

_Bandura looks down at her feet, “I remembered.”_

_“What did you remember?”_

_“What happened to me?”_

_“How?”_

_“I fell out of a tree. When I hit the ground my mind weakened momentarily, allowing the memories to return.”_

_Abi looks at Bandura’s gauze-covered torso, she was shaking._

_During her time with him Abi had never seen Bandura show much of any emotions. She never wanted to talk about what happened to her and always deflected any questions. Abi had given up and could do nothing but wait for her to tell him on her own. Perhaps now she would._

_“You said you were ready. I’m guessing that means you’re ready to tell me?”_

_Bandura nods and takes a deep breath,_

_“It happened when I was twelve-years-old. I’d been on my own for a while them. But I stopped in a town to rest. I was walking down a street when I felt something stick into my back and I passed out. Turns out I’d been kidnapped by these… they called themselves scientists. Anyway they took me back to their compound, that place was more like a recreation of hell itself. At first they would just starve me, but soon they got bored._

_“First came the torture, then came the fighting. They would stick me in a ring with as many as six other captives and we would fight to the death… I never lost. This all went on for about two years, then they got bored again and started experimenting on me._

_“They would remove organs, gouge out my skin, burn me with acid and I was injected with anything and everything they could get their hands on. Including the juices of I don’t know how many devil fruits.”_

_When Bandura finished Abi was horrified and near tears._

_“How did you survive? How long were you there?”_

_“I went numb the minute I entered that place, I never felt a thing. And-“_

_“What do you mean ‘numb’?”_

_“There is a monster inside all of us. It is the most primitive and violent of beings, it shows no emotion. For others that monster is locked in a cage, hidden deep within them to the point they forget its existence. But not for me. That monster burst from its cage and completely took over. Even now if it sits just below the surface, it can take control of me mind and body whenever it wishes._

_“I was in that place for eight years.”_

_\----- The Next Morning -----_

_Abi watched in silence as Bandura walks away from his cottage._

_He may never see her again._

_~~~~~ End of Flashback ~~~~~_

              Bandura wakes up and knows it’s time to leave. Getting out of Abi’s chair and kneeling in front of it she flips it so the bottom in facing her. Ripping it open a bag tumbles to her feet. Bandura smiles,

              “I knew you would hide it here old man.”

              Throwing the strap over her shoulder Bandura flips the chair back to its original position and stands. Everyone begins to stir, Zoro is the first to wake. He stands up from behind the couch and turns around to see Bandura,

              “How did you sleep?” he asks.

              “Wake the others,” she says, ignoring his question, “We need to leave now.”

 

              Everyone is up and ready to go in ten minutes. They didn’t bring anything to Abi’s cottage, anything they bought went directly aboard the Sunny. Bandura led everyone down a path that would take them straight to the docks, she didn’t want anyone to see them walking through the town. Once they are a safe distance away Bandura looks back at the cottage and Abi’s unmarked grave.

              “Are you alright Janey?” Chopper asks.

              Abi’s cottage bursts into a ball of flames. Everyone except Bandura screams and throws themselves to the ground, even Zoro. Bandura watches as the flames roar and the roof of the cottage caves in.

              “What the hell was that?!” Sanji shouts.

              “Janet what did you do?” Chopper asks.

              “Janey did that? Cool!” Luffy shouts.

              Bandura stands silently as her crew stand up and dust themselves off, then she answers.

              “No one else can ever use Abi’s cottage or take anything from it.”

              “What about his things?” Zoro asks.

              Bandura adjusts the bag on her shoulder and pats it,

              “Anything that is important to Abi is in here,” she replies, “except his stick of course. Now let’s go, the townspeople will no doubt see the smoke.”

              Bandura turns and continues on down the path. Everyone jogs after and Zoro goes to her side,

              “What if you come back to Leona?”

              Bandura does not look at Zoro when she answers,

              “I will never return here.”


	10. Part 10

War| Part 10

 

              The Straw Hats were able to get to the Sunny and set sail without any interference. Once they were out at sea everybody relaxed and went about their activities. Bandura hung from her usual spot on the netting leading up to the crow’s nest. She had not spoken of Abi or Leona since they set sail, and she had no intention on bringing up anytime soon. Everyone left Bandura alone, quickly realizing that she had her own way of grieving.

              Around noon time Zoro climbed down from the crow’s nest, where he’d been training. He pauses next to Bandura,

              “I’m going for some lunch, want me to bring you anything?”

              Bandura opens an eye, even though she knows its Zoro,

              “I’d like an apple.”

              Zoro descends the rest of the way to the deck and disappears into the kitchen. A few minutes later Zoro reappears at the base of the netting carrying two plates of food and two bottles of sake. Bandura climbs down and takes the two plates from Zoro and climbs back up to the crow’s nest balancing them on her arm. Zoro follows her with the bottles. He climbs into the crow’s nest and sees Bandura sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Zoro sits across from her and hands her a bottle. Bandura pulls and spits out the cork and takes a long pull of the sake. The two eat in silence. Zoro polishes off his plate and is soon eye’s Bandura’s, all she’s eaten is an apple.

              “I told Sanji all you wanted was an apple but he made me bring the plate anyway,” he says.

              “You can have it,” she replies.

              Zoro tentatively takes the plate but doesn’t eat until Bandura gives him a nod. The plate is licked clean in minutes.

              “I got a question for you Wolfie.”

              “What?”

              “Well you’ve hardly eaten anything today and I don’t remember you eating much of anything in Leona… I’m just curious as in how you can go so long without eating?”

              Bandura takes the bottle away from her lips and wipes her mouth with her sleeve,

              “Before I met Abi I… lived in conditions in which the availability of food was not guaranteed.”

              “How long can you go?”

              “Five months without food, two months without water.”

              “That long? That’s insane!”

              “I didn’t have much of a choice.”

              Zoro frowns,

              “I know you don’t want to but if you ever need to talk, about anything, you can come to me.”

              Bandura smiles, “I know.”

 

              They stayed up in the crow’s nest the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening. When Sanji announced dinner was ready Zoro wasn’t going to go down. But Bandura made him go, and told him to tell the others she wasn’t hungry. Zoro takes the empty plates and empty bottles and goes down to the deck.

              Bandura stretches out on the floor of the crow’s nest and watches the evening sky. She was truly thankful for the Straw Hats and what they were doing for her. Abi had been her only friend and now that he was gone Bandura knew the last thing she should be feeling is alone. And in truth she didn’t.

              She knew she could talk to anyone and they would listen. There can be no secrets between Bandura and the Straw Hats, especially the ones she was keeping. She decides she’ll talk to Zoro when he comes back up after dinner. Because she knew he would.

~~~~~ After Dinner ~~~~~

              Zoro opens the hatch and sees Bandura asleep, still stretched out in the middle of the crow’s nest. He smiles at how peaceful she looks when she’s sleeping and quietly sits down next to her.

              “I heard you come in,” she says.

              “There is just no seeking up on you is there?”

              Bandura smiles and props herself up on her elbows, “Nope.”

              Zoro returns her smile, happy to get any kind of response. She sits up all the way and crosses her legs.

              “Zoro,” she says, “you know about my scars, correct?”

              “…Yes.”

              She grins and lifts up the corner of his shirt just so it shows the end of his scar. Zoro blushes slightly.

              “So tell me about yours,” she says.

              Zoro raises an eyebrow,

              “You already know don’t you?”

              “Yes, but I want to hear it from you.”

              He takes her hand from his shirt and rests it on his thigh. Bandura listens intently as Zoro recounts his battle with Mihawk. She smiles when Zoro tells her what Mihawk had said to him. Zoro fought well against her brother, but she was not surprised that he lost. Bandura knew of only one person who’d beaten her brother, and that is none other than herself. Even though Mihawk was ten years her senior, by time she was seven Bandura was beating her brother. Of course people may hear this and think Mihawk was going easy on his baby sister, but they would be wrong.

              Mihawk was not hard on anyone as he was hard on Bandura. He as well as his parents saw this potential in his little sister and wanted to see her use it.

 

              “Wolfie?”

              Zoro nudges her shoulder. Bandura shakes her head, realizing that she had been daydreaming.

              “Sorry.”             

              “You okay?”

              “Yeah just… thinking about my brother.”

              “You have a brother?”

              Bandura nods, “I haven’t seen him in years.”

              “What happened?”

              “We… went our separate ways after our parents died.”

              “How old were you?”

              “I was nine-years-old.”

              “Nine?”

              She nods.

              “I’m sorry.”

              “No need,” she replies, “not all of us can have ideal childhoods.”

              Bandura leans against Zoro and rests her head on his shoulder.

              “What happened to them?” he asks.

              “My mom died of fever when I was seven. My dad tried to keep it together for my brother and I but… he couldn’t handle the depression. It ended up killing him two years later.”

              “You and our brother separated after that?”

              She nods, “Sparrow didn’t want to but I gave him no choice.”

              “Sparrow?”

              “It was my nickname for him.”

              “Is there a reason?”

              “The first time I saw him he was sitting on the railing on the porch of our house with a tiny sparrow balancing on his finger.”

              “What do you mean when you gave him no choice?”

              “I told him that if we stayed together he would be killed. And that he would not be able to achieve his dreams if he was dead.”

              “You would get him killed?”

              Bandura nods, “shortly after our father died we were attacked by pirates. We were able to fight them off. They were after me, clearly my family weren’t the only ones who saw my untapped potential. I knew anyone who was after me would kill Sparrow if we stayed together.”

              “But if you were in danger then it was his job as your older brother to protect you.”

              “I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself even back then. Besides even if he wasn’t killed I would’ve been keeping him from achieving his dream?”

              “To become the world’s greatest swordsman.”

              “Then I guess I’ll be challenging him one day,” Zoro says with a grin.

              _You already have,_ Bandura thinks, _and you lost_.

              “What is your dream Wolfie?”

              “Honestly, before we went to Leona, I didn’t have a dream or a goal,” she replies.

              “And now?”

              “I promised Abi I would find Sparrow.”

              Zoro and Bandura fell silent. Eventually she stretches herself back out on the floor and went to sleep. Zoro sits for a while, watching her sleep. He had seen the change in her the minute the minute Bandura burned Abi’s cottage. She was strong and together on the outside, but he knew she was lost and broken on the inside. And he is pissed.

              He promised Abi that he would care for Bandura and that he would save her. But how the hell was he supposed to do that if she wouldn’t open up and talk to him?


End file.
